Chapter 70
When Ravia heard the question, she realized that Herod caught on to her feelings.
The heart is always clearer from the eyes of others than what you truly feel.
So even if Herod, whom she just met, asked such a question….it only meant that Ravia’s feelings toward Tidwell were quite special.
But now that she had gotten this far, there was only one thing she could say.
-We were strangers from the start.
So nothing really matters now. That was her point.
Listening to Ravia’s answer, Herod did not add anything other than the formal response ‘I see.’
Maybe it was similar to how he didn’t try to pry into Tidwell’s ‘personal reason’ for aiming for Leontine.
That’s why the conversation ended at that time. Unlike the previous ones, their last exchange did not flow so sharply.
So Ravia quickly erased the conversation from her head.
No, she tried to. But looking at Tidwell, the conversation kept repeating in her mind.
That his love will cool someday, and he will surely turn his back on her when he learns of her actions. And even when she said it didn’t matter to her….
In the peaceful silence, she continued to act like a snowman left out in the hot summer. Being able to melt alone while being surrounded by a peaceful landscape is a talent in itself.
Her inability to feel peace was perhaps a bad habit that she hadn’t fixed for a long time.
It felt like there was a hole in her chest, and it spread through her body. Unable to bear the hollows in her chest, veins, and even fingertips, Ravia slowly pushed him away.
“….Come to think of it, I forgot I have an appointment today.”
She thought he’d complain or hold onto her as he did a while ago. Despite her worries, Tidwell shook off his disappointment by kissing the back of Ravia’s hand.
“Are you going back late?”
She planned to visit Cheshire Cat, and if she couldn’t meet Crow, she might be able to return early. She knew that errand boys usually have more than one client.
‘That seems to be the case, especially for Crow,’ Ravia thought as she picked up her neatly folded clothes from the table.
When looking for an errand boy, the client usually informs the guild of the requirements first. Whether they want someone quick thinking, someone who is good at extracting information, or someone good at infiltration and camouflage.
The client will see a book that records the specialties of each errand boy and get recommendations for the suitable person, or the client can choose for themselves.
But Ravia did not choose Crow.
For some reason, Crow was assigned to her after she cut her hair and answered a question about the meaning of the Cheshire Cat.
Of course, from Ravia’s perspective, she was fine with anyone as long as they could do their job well, so she accepted Crow without a second thought.
Therefore, it was only later that she realized Crow was a unique case. It was impossible not to know no matter how ignorant you were.
‘Because you’re bragging too much.’
Every task she gave him was extremely challenging. When Ravia first asked him to spy on Tidwell, he looked like he couldn’t believe he was stuck with such a client. But after that, he kept bragging, saying that not everyone could do this mission.
She laughed it off, thinking that his easy-going attitude fit well with the name ‘*Baepsae.’
(T/N: A small, puffy bird with a long tail commonly known as Crow Tit/parrotbill.)
‘On second thought, I was lucky.’
Other errand boys wouldn’t be able to carry it off. After all of this is over, it wouldn’t be bad to officially sign a contract and take him as her subordinate, she thought. She would need to rack her brain to persuade Crow, but it will be worth the effort.
As Ravia arranged her clothes and mapped out the future in her head, something fell from her inner sleeve.
A small note folded in half.
Ravia was frozen for a moment. She bent down slowly, picked it up, and glanced behind. Tidwell was also getting out of bed and getting dressed.
After confirming that he was busy buttoning his shirt, she hurriedly opened the note with her thumb. The message in it was brief because there wasn’t enough space.
A round clock pointing at 10:10 and a message below it.
[I’ll be waiting -R-]
She didn’t need a long time to figure out what the initials meant.
‘…Rette.’
It was a secret invitation.
***
“Rette, do you think that my lady will find the letter?”
“Of course. You may walk your two legs there.”
“Why do I need to walk there?”
“First of all, I am someone who has nothing to lose except for my body, so my legs are too precious to walk.”
The girl said cynically as she leaned on the sofa armrest and then stretched her legs.
The short legs revealed beneath her shorts, and further down were her black Mary Jane shoes, bobbing up and down in the air.
“Second, you don’t even believe me. Is there any way for you to check unless you walk there on your own, Crow?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?” The masked man, Crow, grumbled as he scratched the cheek under his mask.
He was grumbling, but he didn’t sound too annoyed by that. Crow was a little curious.
Yesterday, Rette told him what had happened in general. From the so-called ‘angel’ who saved Rette in Bluewell Street, the fact that she was Ravia Leontine, to the fact that Rette left her an encrypted note.
However, Crow, an expert in secret delivery, couldn’t understand why Rette chose such a cumbersome method.
“If you want to meet her, you can just leave it to me. Or you can write it more clearly. Who would understand if you leave a picture like that?”
“Writing a note is dangerous. Someone else might see it before Ravia Leontine does. Don’t forget that I’m not an expert like you.”
“But why didn’t you just leave it to me, then?”
Rette’s expression turned dark at his comeback.
“…I know it’s the easiest and the safest way. But you also know this, Crow. Why haven’t we tried to approach Ravia Leontine even though we know that she is our clue?”
Listening to her, the corners of the mouth exposed under the mask curled downward.
“Well, that’s…because even before we entered the scene, Ravia Leontine was already so deeply involved with Orpheus and Dark Flower.”
“Yeah. Our lives are more important than our plans. There’s nothing good about upsetting them.”
“That’s why I become more curious. Even though you know she’s deeply involved with them, why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
If only Rette’s physique became younger, then he’d know that her choice was a result of a prophecy. But Rette remained the same. If more prophecies were made, Rette could have really regressed to being a toddler.
When asked by Crow, Rette propped her chin on her palm, closed her eyes then opened them slowly.
“…Rather than being so sudden…I think I finally dare to intervene.”
All this time she’d always been scared of Herod and Dark Flower. So Rette continued.
“As I have said before, my prophecy intervened in Ravia Leontine’s course of life. I don’t know in what way the prophecy changed her course of life, but what’s certain is that the result is a future in which Ravia Leontine, who was destined to die, will not die.”
About a month ago, when Crow came to Rette and exclaimed, “Your prophecy was right!”, Rette was actually surprised that Ravia Leontine was his client.
There were many reasons.
First, it was the name that she often heard through the alliance of Herod and Tidwell’s organization.
Rette, as a staff of Cosmo, had steadily heard from Herod about how much change was occurring outside.
Including the story that Tidwell became Leontine’s adopted son, and that he would kill every member of Leontine to take over the family.
So Rette asked Crow.
-Are you saying that your client is Ravia Leontine? That little duke of Leontine?
-I’m sure of her identity. We met at Leontine’s residence.
To prove his words, Crow showed a cheque with the Leontine seal on it. Next to it was the signature of Ravia Leontine.
Should I laugh, or should I cry at this?
To think that the woman, who was a target assassination of an underworld mafia boss, was the key to her long-cherished desire…
The timing of Tidwell’s entry into Leontine coincided with Crow becoming Ravia’s messenger through Rette’s prophecy.
Almost like they were destined to protect Ravia from death.
Chapter 70
When Ravia heard the question, she realized that Herod caught on to her feelings.
The heart is always clearer from the eyes of others than what you truly feel.
So even if Herod, whom she just met, asked such a question….it only meant that Ravia’s feelings toward Tidwell were quite special.
But now that she had gotten this far, there was only one thing she could say.
-We were strangers from the start.
So nothing really matters now. That was her point.
Listening to Ravia’s answer, Herod did not add anything other than the formal response ‘I see.’
Maybe it was similar to how he didn’t try to pry into Tidwell’s ‘personal reason’ for aiming for Leontine.
That’s why the conversation ended at that time. Unlike the previous ones, their last exchange did not flow so sharply.
So Ravia quickly erased the conversation from her head.
No, she tried to. But looking at Tidwell, the conversation kept repeating in her mind.
That his love will cool someday, and he will surely turn his back on her when he learns of her actions. And even when she said it didn’t matter to her….
In the peaceful silence, she continued to act like a snowman left out in the hot summer. Being able to melt alone while being surrounded by a peaceful landscape is a talent in itself.
Her inability to feel peace was perhaps a bad habit that she hadn’t fixed for a long time.
It felt like there was a hole in her chest, and it spread through her body. Unable to bear the hollows in her chest, veins, and even fingertips, Ravia slowly pushed him away.
“….Come to think of it, I forgot I have an appointment today.”
She thought he’d complain or hold onto her as he did a while ago. Despite her worries, Tidwell shook off his disappointment by kissing the back of Ravia’s hand.
“Are you going back late?”
She planned to visit Cheshire Cat, and if she couldn’t meet Crow, she might be able to return early. She knew that errand boys usually have more than one client.
‘That seems to be the case, especially for Crow,’ Ravia thought as she picked up her neatly folded clothes from the table.
When looking for an errand boy, the client usually informs the guild of the requirements first. Whether they want someone quick thinking, someone who is good at extracting information, or someone good at infiltration and camouflage.
The client will see a book that records the specialties of each errand boy and get recommendations for the suitable person, or the client can choose for themselves.
But Ravia did not choose Crow.
For some reason, Crow was assigned to her after she cut her hair and answered a question about the meaning of the Cheshire Cat.
Of course, from Ravia’s perspective, she was fine with anyone as long as they could do their job well, so she accepted Crow without a second thought.
Therefore, it was only later that she realized Crow was a unique case. It was impossible not to know no matter how ignorant you were.
‘Because you’re bragging too much.’
Every task she gave him was extremely challenging. When Ravia first asked him to spy on Tidwell, he looked like he couldn’t believe he was stuck with such a client. But after that, he kept bragging, saying that not everyone could do this mission.
She laughed it off, thinking that his easy-going attitude fit well with the name ‘*Baepsae.’
(T/N: A small, puffy bird with a long tail commonly known as Crow Tit/parrotbill.)
‘On second thought, I was lucky.’
Other errand boys wouldn’t be able to carry it off. After all of this is over, it wouldn’t be bad to officially sign a contract and take him as her subordinate, she thought. She would need to rack her brain to persuade Crow, but it will be worth the effort.
As Ravia arranged her clothes and mapped out the future in her head, something fell from her inner sleeve.
A small note folded in half.
Ravia was frozen for a moment. She bent down slowly, picked it up, and glanced behind. Tidwell was also getting out of bed and getting dressed.
After confirming that he was busy buttoning his shirt, she hurriedly opened the note with her thumb. The message in it was brief because there wasn’t enough space.
A round clock pointing at 10:10 and a message below it.
[I’ll be waiting -R-]
She didn’t need a long time to figure out what the initials meant.
‘…Rette.’
It was a secret invitation.
***
“Rette, do you think that my lady will find the letter?”
“Of course. You may walk your two legs there.”
“Why do I need to walk there?”
“First of all, I am someone who has nothing to lose except for my body, so my legs are too precious to walk.”
The girl said cynically as she leaned on the sofa armrest and then stretched her legs.
The short legs revealed beneath her shorts, and further down were her black Mary Jane shoes, bobbing up and down in the air.
“Second, you don’t even believe me. Is there any way for you to check unless you walk there on your own, Crow?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?” The masked man, Crow, grumbled as he scratched the cheek under his mask.
He was grumbling, but he didn’t sound too annoyed by that. Crow was a little curious.
Yesterday, Rette told him what had happened in general. From the so-called ‘angel’ who saved Rette in Bluewell Street, the fact that she was Ravia Leontine, to the fact that Rette left her an encrypted note.
However, Crow, an expert in secret delivery, couldn’t understand why Rette chose such a cumbersome method.
“If you want to meet her, you can just leave it to me. Or you can write it more clearly. Who would understand if you leave a picture like that?”
“Writing a note is dangerous. Someone else might see it before Ravia Leontine does. Don’t forget that I’m not an expert like you.”
“But why didn’t you just leave it to me, then?”
Rette’s expression turned dark at his comeback.
“…I know it’s the easiest and the safest way. But you also know this, Crow. Why haven’t we tried to approach Ravia Leontine even though we know that she is our clue?”
Listening to her, the corners of the mouth exposed under the mask curled downward.
“Well, that’s…because even before we entered the scene, Ravia Leontine was already so deeply involved with Orpheus and Dark Flower.”
“Yeah. Our lives are more important than our plans. There’s nothing good about upsetting them.”
“That’s why I become more curious. Even though you know she’s deeply involved with them, why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
If only Rette’s physique became younger, then he’d know that her choice was a result of a prophecy. But Rette remained the same. If more prophecies were made, Rette could have really regressed to being a toddler.
When asked by Crow, Rette propped her chin on her palm, closed her eyes then opened them slowly.
“…Rather than being so sudden…I think I finally dare to intervene.”
All this time she’d always been scared of Herod and Dark Flower. So Rette continued.
“As I have said before, my prophecy intervened in Ravia Leontine’s course of life. I don’t know in what way the prophecy changed her course of life, but what’s certain is that the result is a future in which Ravia Leontine, who was destined to die, will not die.”
About a month ago, when Crow came to Rette and exclaimed, “Your prophecy was right!”, Rette was actually surprised that Ravia Leontine was his client.
There were many reasons.
First, it was the name that she often heard through the alliance of Herod and Tidwell’s organization.
Rette, as a staff of Cosmo, had steadily heard from Herod about how much change was occurring outside.
Including the story that Tidwell became Leontine’s adopted son, and that he would kill every member of Leontine to take over the family.
So Rette asked Crow.
-Are you saying that your client is Ravia Leontine? That little duke of Leontine?
-I’m sure of her identity. We met at Leontine’s residence.
To prove his words, Crow showed a cheque with the Leontine seal on it. Next to it was the signature of Ravia Leontine.
Should I laugh, or should I cry at this?
To think that the woman, who was a target assassination of an underworld mafia boss, was the key to her long-cherished desire…
The timing of Tidwell’s entry into Leontine coincided with Crow becoming Ravia’s messenger through Rette’s prophecy.
Almost like they were destined to protect Ravia from death.
